The devastating floods in Pakistan in the fall of 2022, caused by unusually heavy monsoon rains, submerged a third of the country, affecting 33 million people and causing extensive damage to infrastructure and homes. In the wake of this tragedy, the country has been on a path to recovery, with a significant surge in demand for cement to rebuild infrastructure and housing.
To meet this critical need, Lucky Cement, one of Pakistan's largest cement producers with a manufacturing capacity of 15.3 million tons per year, has taken decisive steps to expand its production capabilities. By implementing ABB’s Is-limiters, the company will overcome power supply constraints and enhance its production capability.
To meet growing power requirements at the Karachi production facility, Lucky Cement has installed a 31 MW solar power system and 28.8 MW wind turbines in addition to the conventional power sources. However, this expansion led to constraints in the power distribution system and its switchgear.
To meet the challenges, ABB recommended integrating two Is-limiters into Lucky Cement’s existing network as this would solve the issue of cumulative short-circuit contributions nearing the rating of their existing system and switchgear. Introducing the Is-limiters allows the power supply system to be divided into three subsystems and effectively manage the fault currents. This meant that the protection settings can be kept as they were, yet increased protection sensitivity. Further, with this solution time and production losses involved with changing to new switchgear are avoided.
This solution is to be taken into use in the upcoming months to ensure a reliable and diverse power supply to Lucky Cement’s production and enable more equipment to be connected, resulting in safe, secure and uninterrupted operations at the Karachi plant.
"ABB has been a trusted partner in our journey towards sustainable and protected operations. Their reliable products, expertise, and exceptional support are set to enhance our production capabilities significantly. We look forward to the positive impact of this strong partnership," said Mr. Hassan Mazhar Rizvi, General Manager, Power Generation at Lucky Cement, Karachi.
ABB's solution provided Lucky Cement with maximum flexibility and a swift implementation timeline, all while being economically viable. This enhancement will not only increase production capacity but also ensure that cement is available where and when it is most needed, supporting Pakistan's reconstruction efforts.
Lucky Cement’s Karachi production facility. Photo courtesy of Lucky Cement. 
The Is-limiter is a switching device with extremely short operating time, catering to a variety of applications that conventional switches cannot fulfill.
